The Earth Chronicles Project is an educational documentary series produced for broadcast and educational venues, accompanied by exhibits at museums and other non-profit venues. They focus on art, ecological sustainability and cultural preservation and are co-produced by Ms. Fran Hardy, M.Ed., artist/educator and Bob Demboski, filmmaker. To see Ms. Hardy’s art focusing on ancient trees and forests go to: http://www.franhardy.com.
http://earthchroniclesproject.com

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

I am busy finishing packing as we are off to Oklahoma tomorrow and our first stop will be the Four Canyons Preserve managed by the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy on May 5. Go to an earlier blog to find out more about it and tune in to this blog that night to hear all about our visit. Our last interview and visit of our trip will be with Rachel Kastner at "Closer to Earth" an innovative organic gardening program for at risk youth.

We will meet Rachel at the farm and then see the students hard at work on the community garden and see a roadway median they have planted with native plants.

Here is more information from their website. The foundation just received

a $5000.00 grant from Gardener's Supply for their innovative and important program.

CTE intercepts at risk youth before they become deeply involved in gang activity, crime or the criminal justice system. The youth are learning valuable life skills through organic vegetable production and the emergency and market food distribution systems. Director of the CTE Youth Gardening program Rachel Kastner says “Gardening with our specific demographic of youth is about more than just educating them in gardening, health and the environment. It’s about empowering them to face the challenges they face so young in their lives, and gardening naturally does this. I have witnessed time and time again the healing and empowerment working the ground brings to people. The Green Education Foundation and Gardener’s Supply Grant is crucial support for our programs expansion, so that we can reach more inner-city youth. I would like to sincerely thank them for investing in the lives of youth in Oklahoma City.”

About Me

To see Ms. Hardy’s art, especially her focus on and love of ancient trees and forests go to: http:// www.franhardy.com. Her drawings and paintings of trees, are part of a lifelong passion that centers around very elaborate, otherworldly large scale drawings and their interpretation into paintings.
For more in-depth information on the projects go to:
http://www.earthchroniclesproject.com